Delta Airlines heeft vandaag excuses aangeboden voor opmerkingen van de CEO. Deze probeerde de maatschappijen uit de golfregio te linken aan de 9/11-attacks. Hij dat Amerikaanse maatschappijen (destijds) in zwaar weer zaten door de aanvallen op 11 september. Die aanvallen werden gepleegd door terroristen uit de golfregio. Daarom mochten maatschappijen uit diezelfde regio niks zeggen over de belastingvoordelen die de Amerikaanse maatschappijen hebben gehad.
Delta zegt nu dat de maatschappij “didn’t mean to suggest the Gulf carriers or their governments are linked to the 9/11 terrorists”, and adds: “We apologise if anyone was offended.”
Delta legt verder uit: “Emirates, Qatar and Etihad have long tried to defend their government subsidies by characterising the 9/11 payments and Chapter 11 bankruptcy as subsidies”. “This couldn’t be further from the truth. The first was a one-time payment to US airlines in the aftermath of the US airspace closure after 9/11. Delta didn’t receive loan guarantees.”
“The post-9/11 shutdown and its aftermath resulted in the loss of tens of thousands airline jobs and billions of dollars in debt and equity for investors. The bankruptcy proceedings that followed involved a completely transparent process with no government funding.”
Emirates zegt in een verklaring de verontschuldigingen van Delta niet te accepteren: “We believe that the statements made this week by Mr Anderson were deliberately crafted and delivered for specific effect”. “This brings into question his credibility as a CEO of a US public listed company, as well as the integrity of the submission which his airline has submitted to the US authorities.”
